Welcome!
I am a quilter, paper crafter,
novice artist, real estate agent,
gardener and wife of a terrific man.
I make posts to this
blog from time to time to keep
my family and friends informed of what is happening in my studio where I make things. I like to sew doll quilts, wall quilts, coffee
quilts (coffee cup coasters, and create mini albums, alter tags and boxes and sometimes just post about what happens to be on my mind.

Monday, November 24, 2014

After the snowstorm that hit our area, we are dug out and back to a bit of normalcy. We had several feet of snow fall in a very short time. There were travel bans and that was A-OK with me because I was not going to venture out anyway! Most of the snow has melted and the creek behind our house will overflow its' banks in a day or so; but fortunately we are at a high enough elevation that it never rises up to our house. My heart goes out to those who lost loved ones during the storm, as well as those people who had structural damage to their homes, businesses and farm buildings.

The bright snow lights our rooms up and so it was great for doing my paper crafts and sewing during the storm. We never lost power, thank God! It probably would have been as great for house cleaning, but I opted to only do the basics . . . with the exception of polishing the banister and wood paneling BEFORE we put up any Christmas decorations! Every year we say that we will decorate early. I think it will happen this year! We will stay home for Thanksgiving and then haul out the decorations so we can have it all done in a few days. We shall see!

Below are photos of the projects I worked on during the storm.

This is a 5x7 paper crafted corset that I made as a birthday gift for my friend Tiffany. She has a lot that were sent to her from her YouTube subbies and she is going to hang them on a ribbon spanning one of the walls in her studio. I can't wait to see the photos!

I made this little card to try out a new-to-me style of card. It is called an aperture card. This is only 4"x4" and would make a sweet note card. This was part of a challenge in the Facebook group that I am in, "Craft That Divas".

After I re-read the instructions for the challenge, I saw that it was supposed to be a Christmas card! So, I made this one too! It kind of looks like Santa Claus's belt buckle!

I eagerly awaited the arrival of my new window die, but it was delayed by the storm. Luckily the UPS driver arrived when my husband was shoveling snow and he handed it to him over the snow banks! This is the first card I made with it that same night. I am in love with this die and all the possibilities it presents!

I decided to make another window card that was a bit more whimsical. I tried several different ways to make snow at the bottom of the card and gave up on all of them. Then it occured to me that one of my eyelet punches might work. After all, this is fun and fantasy . . . not realism! It did the trick! I am obsessed with making these cards!

On our first outing after the storm, we did some necessary errands (which of course included a stop at Michaels and JoAnns), we took a ride out in the country. This photo was taken on one of my favorite roads that we travel home on. When I see the fish scale clouds, I always think of my father. He taught me what the various clouds formations were called and what they meant, as far as predicting the weather. He was a farmer, so this was important to him. He would call this a mackerel sky and said it meant rain was coming.

Across the road, there were mare's tails in the sky, (the three wispy clouds in the middle of the picture), which mean there is wind up there blowing the clouds apart.

We drove east and found there was very little snow past Stafford. This photo was taken where they have been picking field corn. This field is part of the farm I grew up on. The farm equipment my father used was half this size and probably a quarter of the cost.

Looking east down Britt Road, you can see the little barn and house where I grew up. My husband grew up in the city and he is amazed at all the open space I had to roam as a child. You HAD to roam if you wanted to see civilization! :-) I love memories of my childhood, especially fall.

During the storm, I worked on a black and white quilt block that has a gazillion pieces. To make the 8-inch block on the left, you need to make 4 4-inch block components . . . each with 16 small pieces. It is paper pieced, and that is something I enjoy . . . even if it takes f o r e v e r !

I am working on a very special paper crafting project and I wanted to use some of the roses that are sold in the $2 bin at Michaels. However, when I went there, they had taken them off the shelves in order to put up their Christmas displays. Groan. I came home and watched some YouTube videos on how to make paper roses and these are what I have made so far. I only need to have 10 of the large ones and 30 of the small ones. Talk about labor intensive! However, I am liking the results. I came up with the little circle cut into a star for the bottom of the flower and think it is pretty clever, if I do say so myself. Necessity IS the mother of invention!

I think that is about it for what has been happening here. I have some work to do (real estate . . . you know, . . . the $ that allows me to buy all my stash) . . . and then some crafting!

I am very grateful that we got through the storm with out any ill effects. I did not sleep for two nights as I listened for our 168 year old house to groan under the weight of the snow. No sleep, but no creaks, cracks or groans, either!

Monday, November 17, 2014

November Greetings!
Since my last post ...several months ago on August 22nd, I have been out of the loop due to illness. As my health allows, I will be here as often as possible to share what I have been up to. Being homebound has had its advantages because it allowed me the uninterrupted time in my studio to work on papercrafting and sewing projects. I may end up finishing some of my UFOs (unfinished objects)! I was able to complete three of my quilts in time for the quilt show that my guild held in October. I should have several more quilts ready for the next show in two years!
Last Friday night the facebook group that I am a member of, Craft That Divas, got together in cyberspace to make explosion boxes. Here are some photos of the one I made. I used some double-sided MME papers that I had in my stash: "Grateful" & "Cherish" & "Adore" The box has tags to write on, 4 little cards to journal on and 5 places where photos can be inserted in photo corners.

We are going to have our first snow storm of the season. This is how it looks out my upstairs window. We have many days that we are under the lake effect clouds. It looks like we live in a black and white world! :-) This is one of the reasons I love to use my pretty fabric and papers in the winter. It brightens my days! ByThursday morning, it may be sunny and beautiful and provide some wonderful photo ops!﻿

This is why I like to bring the potted geraniums inside in the winter! These are in my studio window and brighten the room!﻿

It seems that every time I do a blog post, something has changed in the format. I have made some edits here and there and tried to tweak this post. :-)

Mostly I want to say I am happy to be back. I am grateful for my husband who loves me and supports me in my creative efforts. and happy to have good medical care.

And . . . until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of his hand.